


Let's Begin Again (On Hiatus)

by Raevofdamned



Series: Protect Marinette [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is still a good guy, Angst, Chloè redemption, Claude is the best boy, F/F, F/M, Felix is actually a soft boy, Fights, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Gonna rewrite when finished, Lesbian Kagami, Lila is a bitch, M/M, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Has Siblings, Marinette has siblings, Minor, Minor Trigger Warnings, Moving On, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Love, Quantic Kids - Freeform, This is a protect Marinette book, Unrequitted Love, cuss words, everything is canon up till S3 ep 1, felinette - Freeform, im a hoe for felinette, im writing the first chap now and my fingers hurt, lesbian chloe, might change the warning later, possible nino/alya redemption, pv kids, slowburn, start of a series, the first chap is just a 300 word paralouge, the kids have bad pasts, the quantic kids are close, then it just gets into crazy shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raevofdamned/pseuds/Raevofdamned
Summary: When your life hits in the ceiling fan and is torn into pieces, that best choice is to pick up what's left and put them back togther. And Marinette did just that.She is now surrounded by new faces and new stories in a place with a meaning. She's determinded to make a new life for herself, not letting the past interfere. But she finds its not that easy to let the past go.





	1. Paralouge

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a paralogue, I'm currently writing the chapter one.

Lila may have been one to lie, but she was not one to back down from a fight. Roughly 6 months ago, she promised her dear ‘friend’, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she’d make her life a living hell if she didn’t get out of her way. She thought it was a fair warning, stay out or she will pay. But the half-Chinese girl didn’t back down, she stood her ground and did her best to make Lila come clean.  

_If that’s the way it is, so be it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you._

The Italian girl spewed more lies, making it seem like Marinette was bullying a frail girl who could barely stand up for herself. Then one by one, the classmates turned against Marinette. Even her own best friend, ha! Priceless. Lila was also delighted when Adrien came to her side, even if it seemed like he was forcing himself. The only classmate who didn’t side with her was Chloe, and honestly, Lila could not care less about the mayor’s daughter. She hated the pale blonde as soon as she saw her, not really knowing why.

Anyways, for Lila. All was going well.

On the other hand, Marinette felt like someone took a dagger and thrusted it in her heart at first. As time went on, the pain numbed to a point. She barely even cared about anything other than being Ladybug, though it wasn’t by much.

The noirette was depressed and it showed, but she felt like barely anyone paid attention. Her once high grades started hitting the floor, she was silent and kept to herself, and she started eating less and less. It was currently at the point she was feeble. When confronted about it by her teacher and parents, she shrugged it off and said it was nothing, that she was just fine. But they all knew it was a lie, because this wasn’t the bright and cheery girl they knew, this was someone in pain.

Someone who was broken.

But when a small envelope appeared with the words ‘ _Esprits brillants’ written on it,_ things started to get better.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette get's lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 300 reads.....for a paralogue????? Thank you!

Esprits Brillants, or also known as ‘Bright Minds’, is an exclusive school for the rich and gifted. It had a variety of courses, including fashion. The only way to get into the school was either to be the best of the best or to was born incredibly rich. But even being rich wasn’t enough most of the time, if the child had no potential, they were rejected.

Marinette had been wanting to go to this school since she was 7, it used to be one of her (secret) life long dreams. So, her parents being the supportive and loving family they are, filled out a form which requested she’d be on the list to be looked at. (In order to be considered to join the prestigious school, a form had to be filled at a young age. It gives the school board a chance to examine the child’s grades and achievements as they grew to decide on whether they’d be accepted or not.)

Now that Marinette was 15, the young girl was of age to got Lycée. Which in turn, meant she was old enrolled.

When the letter came, Marinette became a nervous wreck. Her nerves where shot and her heart were pounding so hard if felt as if it would jump out of her chest. During the last four months of school, her grades dropped harshly. Which affected her chance greatly and made the girl become even more overwhelmed with stress as she thought about it. But she just took a deep breath, calming herself (a technique she learned with her therapist. Over-thinking just caused her more stress) and opened the letter.

_Dear Mlle Dupain-Cheng,_

_We at Esprits Brillants are pleased to say you will be joining our fashion course for the next four years. You have shown great promise with your undeniably raw talent; the dress that you designed for your exams was something we were all blown away by._

_Your grades are also quite excellent, not including your last few months at your old school. Your parents explained to us what happened and we all collectively decided your talents made up for a few bad grades._

_We hope when you’re here, you will find it a more positive place to spread your wings. For it is our_ _job to take young proteges like you and help mold them into the best they can be._

_On the back, you will find a list of what you will need. We look forward to seeing you_

  * _Sincerely_



_Headmistresses Helena Kasse_

 “Woah,” she breathed.

As she peered into the hall full of bustling students, her mouth gaped. It was enormous; about three times larger than her middle school. The ceilings where high, with large wooden beams holding them up. The corridor easily had 100 students at the moment, and it wasn’t nearly full. It was also so polished, it shined like a diamond in sunlight-

A sudden ring of the bell shook her out of her thoughts.

As the teenagers slammed their locker doors shut and went off in different directions, Marinette hurried to her locker.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! She was going to be late! And on her first day too!

Marinette stuffed her class schedule into her small purse where her kwami hid. She quickly took what she needed from her back-pack out before throwing it into the locker. She shut the door and ran. She didn’t know where she was running too, just that she was late and had to run.

Wait- she didn’t even realise where she was going. She was just roaming around a large-ass school with no sense of direction. More than probably looking like an idiot while doing so. She gave an internal sigh and gripped her books. Maybe she should look for someone to point her in the right direction. She’d then thank the kind-hearted soul and never speak to them again because she’d probably look like a giant dork. Yeah, sounds like a good plan!

Nearly 10 minutes later, the noirette was still wandering around in the building. One would probably think she’d find a person buy now, that’s what she thought too. But nope! There hadn’t been anyone in the halls and she couldn’t seem to find her way out of the never-ending maze of lockers. Just great.

“Marinette, are you alright?” A worried voice squeaked. Suddenly, a petite red head popped out of the bag the girl carried.

The pig-tailed girl looked down and gave small smile. “I’m fine Tikki, just like I was 3 minutes ago. Just trying to find some way out of here because the class schedule isn’t helping.”

Tikki nodded her head before pulling her head back into the bag. Call her a worry-bug all you want, but she justs wants to make sure her chosen isn’t being overstressed again. Because of over-stress, her chosen went from sturdy to nearly frail. And she’s still in the process of healing her body physically. So the kwami will check up on her whenever she feels as needed.

‘RING!’. Crap, the second bell. She was definitely late. She could feel her heart pound as her legs led her up the stairs. Half-way up the stairs she took a quick break for breath. Her legs and arms were sore, and she felt as if her lungs were squeezed out of oxygen. So this is what it feels like if her super-hero persona got tired, yikes. She’s going to have to remember to give Tikki cookies when she gets home as thanks for making it so she didn’t die from not having air when she’s Ladybug.

“Why couldn’t they just give me a map?” Marinette groaned, setting her books on one of the stairs. She raised her hand to rub one of her temples while the free one reached into her bag.

“Right?! That would be so much easier than just being confused all the time.” A voice behind her agreed.

The pig-tailed girl jumped in surprise before turning around. There stood a tall boy who looked roughly her aged. He had messy dark brown hair, a lopsided smile, and warm blue eyes. He had a light tan and wore a white V-neck tee with blue stripes at the bottom. He also had dark blue jeans with gray white sneakers.

“Anyways, I take it you’re lost? If so, I can help! I know this school like the back of my own hand.” He continued proudly, his hand on his hip. He gave her a bright smile when he noticed she was a bit unsure.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been looking for my home room for about 15 minutes.” She admitted shyly, her eyes avoiding his gaze.  She half expected the mysterious boy to laugh, but instead he just nodded his head.   “Understandable, this is a really big school and it’s easy to get lost. Do you know your teachers name?”

“Yeah, M. Gardner.”

His face lit up when she answered, “We’re in the same class!” he exclaimed. “Hold on, I’ll get your books real quick and I’ll walk with you!” Before she could respond, he lifted her books up. She tried to take them back because she didn’t want him to hurt himself, but he just shifted away childishly as if saying ‘Mine, no touchy.’

She finally gave up after the third try, in which he smirked in victory while she gave a pout.

“Y’know, I can carry it?”

“So? I’m a gentleman, and gentlemen help pretty ladies.” He gave a playful wink at the girl, in which she just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sure.” She scoffed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. He just chuckled. “Anyways, who are you?” she questioned, cocking an eyebrow as they walked.

“I am the _fabulous_ Claude, how about you?”

“I am Marinette, the more _fabulous_ person.” She teased, sticking her tongue out. In which he responded with a feign gasp of shock, and his free hand over his heart. “That hurts, M. _Hurts_. “

She gave a small smile at the boy, she thinks she just made a new friend.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I love when people just click and are like they've always been friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has been up my ass, I wrote this in 30 minutes, it's shitty. I'll rewrite it later.

It all went by in a flash, and before the noirette knew it, she was waiting in line for lunch. She was currently deciding on what to eat while Claude went to inform his friends that she’d be sitting with them.

The boy had first brought it up when the first period ended, and he was leading her to the lunchroom. She immediately shook her head, and politely declined. He was kind enough to show her the way to her classes, but she’d honestly feel like she’d be intruding. But seeing that the boy had a stubborn nature, he insisted. Marinette just shook her head once more, which made him persist more. He didn’t stop until the girl caved in and gave a huffed out ‘yes’.

“ _Great_ ,” he had hummed, “ _you’ll fit right on in_.” He winked while she just rolled her eyes.

“ _You like getting your way, don’t ya_?”

He laughed, “ _Only when I feel like it’s important, other than that, Allegra is the one who calls the shots.”_

She set the food onto her tray and finished up with the lunch line. Almost as if on cue, the brunette came bounding towards her with a blonde by his side. While he was smiling from ear to ear, (A habit Marinette notice he did frequently) the girl looked curious and energetic. She was standing on her tip toes until she caught sight of the noirette.

Marinette came to a halt and peered at the girl. She pale blonde hair that was brought up into a braid, she had ocean blue eyes, and she was quite tall. She wore a simple white tee-shirt with a light purple vest and dark purple leggings. She also had a bracelet on her right hand, and from what Marinette could tell, it was a simple charm bracelet. The girl waved her hand.  

She gave a small wave back before Claude cleared his throat, “Well Mademoiselle Marinette, I am proud to introduce you to the one, the only, Allegra! Who may or may not hate when I do this!” He said in a mimic-host voice, making jazz hand gestures towards the blonde.

Marinette cocked her head to the side and stifled her laugh. Allegra gave a groan and jabbed her elbow in his side. He yelped, and surprisingly no other of the students paid even the slightest attention. Well ok then.

Claude looked over at the blonde and gave a pout, she gave a unamused stare back. “Claude, I love you, but if you start this you won’t stop. And then you might scare the poor child. Lord knows how many children you need to traumatise.” She chided.

“I don’t traumatise kids.”

“Tell that to the kid you accidently mistook for a pillow and then _sat_ on.”

“That was _one_ time.”

“Still…”

Claude rolled his eyes, “Anyways, _Marinette,”_ he empathised strongly, making Allegra remember what they were doing in the first place. The blonde whispered a ‘oh’, shook her head, and looked over at Marinette with an apologetic look. In which the noirette just waved a hand in dismissal, as if to say, ‘don’t worry about it’.

“you are more than welcome to join us.” He continued, fixing his gaze on her. She started feeling jittery for some reason. The other girl nodded her head in agreement and folded her arms, “Anyone who can put up with him for a half-a-day without cracking is _definitely_ more than welcome.”

Claude opened his mouth as to say something but gave a huff and puckered out his bottom lip in a pout. A few kids around them snickered at the girl’s comment, one boy even yelled out, ‘And that’s the damn truth!’. That caused even more snickering, which just made the brunette send a death glare.

“Oh yeah, he _was_ so nice to me. Who even _does_ that?” Marinette joined in, throwing a teasing smile at the boy. Normally, she wouldn’t even do something like that around people she barely knew. But for some reason, she felt like she knew the two for a while.

Allegra just gave a chuckle at that, she then threw an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “You, I’m adopting you.”

“Cool, just know I sleep a lot and get cranky when hungry.”

“Mood, and speaking of hungry, lets get you to the table so you can meet Sir Grump-Alot and Allan.” The blonde pointed to one of the back tables where two people sat, and one of them was giving a glare that could poke holes into someone. Yikes.

The trio made their way to the table. Allegra still had her arm around Marinette, which would normally have the noirette feel uncomfortable, but for some reason she didn’t. It felt oddly familiar… Claude was still grumbling about people ‘ganging up on him’. Marinette just felt content for once, she felt like she didn’t have to worry about anything.

When they reached the table, Allegra directed the noirette to the chair next to her. Marinette sat down with a second thought and placed her tray (which was incredibly light. How?) directly in front of her.

Claude sat between Allegra and blond boy who greatly resembled Allegra. On the other side of the boy, another young man who had short, brown hair, smiled at the trio.

“Well Hello-“About damn time you got here. For a second, it looked like you’d be there all day.” Said the blond flatly, his ice blue almost silver eyes stared at Allegra. She just rolled her eyes and turned her head towards Marinette. “Just pretend he’s not there, the amazing dude on your right is Allan. Say Hi.”

“Er, ok? Uh, Hi.” She gave a small wave at the boy. Marinette guessed the other blond was ‘Sir-Grumps-A lot’. (Who was totally living up too his name.) Allan waved back, a smile on his face.

She gave a quick look-over at him. He had dark skin and light brown eyes. He wore a simple green jacker with a white-collar shirt. His pants where a dark gray and a green flat cap with one white horizontal stripe. It also had a white bill. Yellow-orange headphones hung from his neck.

“Nice to meet ya Marinette,” his accent was foreign, if she was correct, it was American. He held out his hand, offering a handshake. Marinette took it graciously; it was a firm handshake. “Pleasure to meet you too.”

He grinned, it was genuine grin that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. He seemed like a nice guy, he had that kind aura to him.

“Why is everyone smiling like a idiot?” The cold voice demanded. Marinette altered her head back towards the blond boy. His face showed a look of distaste, and his eyes bore into her. She cocked her head, what was his problem?

“Because FeFe, we human beings like to do this thing called ‘being nice to one another’. Something that you, a heartless robot, would never understand.” Claude answered, tilting his head to the side and his voice dripping with false enthusiasm.

‘FeFe’ scowled, his upper lip pulled back. “First of all, never call me that you half-brained twit, and second of all, clearly.” He hissed, turning back to the book in his hands. Was he really reading at Lunch?

Marinette squinted her eyes at him. He had pale blonde hair that was neatly combed to the side. He wore all dark colors, which seemed to suit him. He had a gray long-sleeved dress shirt with a dark gray vest and A black tie. He was most certainly attractive, like in a arrogant kind of way.

“Well, he may be handsome, but he acts like a total ass.” Marinette blurted out, causing everyone around her to laugh. Except for the blond of course, he just gave her a look. (And slightly blushed)

Allan peered over at her, “You’re ours now.”

 

  

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a filler I wrote in a hour because school still sucks. Also, start of a felinette! (Im a hoe for them)  
> Updates are random, but still, thank you all for being patient! Next chapter will show us the reactions to Marinette no longer being in Dupont. (And some felinette bickering)

When the day ended, Marinette planned to just go back home and do her schoolwork. That didn’t happen.  One of her new-found friends, Allegra, grabbed her arm and said they were all going to a local café for awhile and wanted her to come along. She said it was a ‘tradition’ they did whenever someone joined their group of friends. And that it guaranteed that they’d stay friends. Though the blonde couldn’t see it, Marinette was grinning. Her face was lightly pink, and she followed without hesitance.

She knew it was probably weird to get excited about joining someone’s group of friends, but honestly, she didn’t care. The last few months had been hell for her, being shunned by the people she loved more than anything. All because she chose to stand up for what’s right. (The irony, eh?) So when she met them, they made her feel welcome and actually wanted, even Felix in a weird way. That was a feeling she didn’t feel for a while. Marinette was probably moving too fast and should be weary, but with how quick she connected to them in just a few hours, that was the last thing on her mind.

Besides, she felt like she finally belonged.

~3~3~

It’d been roughly 20 minutes since they left the school and made, they’re way towards the ‘local’ café. Normally under similar situations, Marinette’s legs would feel like jelly by this time around, but she was just so wound up with energy that walking for this long didn’t bother her.  She and Allegra where the only people who weren’t huffing and puffing.  (Felix wasn’t walking with them, he said he was taking the limo and will meet them there. He also said he didn’t want to come, but Allegra would berate him if he didn’t.)

“How much farther?” Claude groaned, trudging along the back. This was about his 6th time asking, and they were usually answered with Allan or Allegra giving a glare to shut him up. Marinette would just shrug at the boy.

Allan put his hand on the brunette’s shoulder, which caused him to look over in confusion. “Dude, I love you, but _please_. Shut. Up. I’m begging you, because you do this every time and I’m _really_ tired of it.” Allan spoke softly, but more of threatening soft. He leaned in to get closer to his face and gripped tighter on the boy’s shoulder. Claude gulped, and opened his mouth as if to say something. But then he just lifted his head, turned it the other way, and shut his mouth.

The dark-haired boy patted his shoulder and removed his hand. He had a look of triumph on his face. When he noticed a curious Marinette gazing at them, he gave a big smile and waved as if nothing happened.

The noirette slowly looked away. So, Allan apparently could scare Claude into shutting up. Ok then. Marinette will make a note _not_ to get on his bad side.

It wasn’t long before they actually got to the café. The name of it was on one of the windows, _Dette er en café._ The cursive font was in a golden color and it was bolded, making it stand out.

As she entered the café, the warmth of it filled her senses. She took a deep breath, it smelled like coffee and firewood, with a hint of vanilla. Chatter filled her ears, she looked around for the source of it. There was a around a dozen of other people, most of them were chatting excitedly with each other near the brick fireplace. One or two were just by themselves, sipping their coffee and reading a book in peace.

The atmosphere was just so…relaxing. It made her want to forget every little problem and just let loose, to not care about anything.

Suddenly, she felt someone nudge her shoulder. Looking up, she saw a smiling Allegra. “I take it you like it?” Marinette nodded, gazing back to the café.” Yeah, it reminds of my parents’ bakery a little. Warm and cozy.”

“Your parents own a bakery? That’s cool! You’ll _have_ to show us sometime.” The blonde girl winked, causing Marinette to chuckle. “Hmm, maybe. As long as Claude and Felix promise to behave.”

“That’s fair.”

As soon as the girls finished their conversation, Allan and Marinette walked over to the counter so they could order their drinks. (Allan already knew what everyone else would get, and since considering this is was her first time here, it’d only be practical to let her order herself.) Claude and Allegra went to where Felix was sitting. Which was a large table near the windows. He probably chose it since everyone could sit there and he could keep watch for them.

“Heya Allan, got a new kid?” The barista asked, tilting her head to the side. She quickly glanced at Marinette, giving a welcoming smile.

The boy grinned, “Hello Sarah, and yes. Claude adopted a new one.”

Sarah nodded her head in understanding. Claude was sociable kid who liked helping others. So frankly, hearing this wasn’t a surprise. He was the main reason the whole group was together.

Sarah was a young Asian woman who appeared around 19, she was tall and slim. Her hair was a light brown which was currently pulled up into a long ponytail, her eyes were friendly, and she looked rather attractive in people’s eyes. She wore a simple black-tee and the standard apron. And although her accent was American, her French was spoken fluently.

Sarah leaned against the counter, her hand on her hip. “Well, it’s nice to meet you...”

“Oh, um, Marinette, my name is Marinette.” The noirette stuck her hand out. In which the older girl took firmly, shaking her hand.

“That’s a beautiful name. Anyways, my name is Sarah, but I’m guessing you know that since funko pop over here already said it.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow and slowly looked over at Allan, “Funko pop?”

He grimaced when she said it and shook his head. “It’s a long story… Anyway, lets order! Don’t want to keep the other’s waiting long.” He said it in a hurried tone, making it clear he didn’t want to talk about it.

Probably a story for a different time.

Felix ignored the chitter of the bafoons around him. All he cared about was finishing his black coffee and focusing on his book. He found it rather interesting, it was about the ancient gods from across the world. On what they meant to their people, what they were the god off, and some of their lore.

Well, ok. That was a huge lie. He tried to ignore them, which failed when the new and very petite girl sat in the chair next to him. Frankly he found her in between weird and mysterious. Her hair was black as a raven’s feather and her eyes were a dazzling blue, but they were sad, broken almost. She looked happy, she sounded happy, and currently, her eyes somewhat seemed happy. They still had a hint of sadness in them. Like they were trying to move on.

One might be wondering how he knew this, he’s spent years watching humans and their behaviors. And he recognized this from his sisters own eyes, because for years, that’s how her eyes looked.

There was also something else that unnerved him. She had the _audacity_ to call _him_ ‘handsome, but acts like ass’ so casually? He was going to have to… inspect her. Wondering on how she dared to do that.

 "So, why the hell are you sitting next to me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the café is called This is a café. lmao. Also, how do you like sarah?


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry to update after so long. I was ambushed by school work and such. 

I'm rewriting Lets Begin Again, it's going to be longer and more realistic. I was very unhappy with how I started it. I should have it done soon: one of my friends on the felinette discord said they'll beta read. 

I'll keep the old version up, even though its short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Join the felinette discord and we can talk!
> 
> https://discord.gg/qtMERyx


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